Lietkabelis Panevezys took a critical step forward to fight for home-court advantage in the eighthfinals by downing MoraBanc Andorra 88-75 at Cido Arena in Group A on Tuesday.
Gagic, Orelik lead Lietkabelis over Andorra, 88-75



Lietkabelis improved to 8-5 in the standings while Andorra dropped to 9-5. Both teams had already qualified for the knock-out rounds. Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Djordje Gagic and Gediminas Orelik led the winners with 19 points apiece and Vytenis Lipkevicius added 11 for Lietkabelis. Codi Miller-McIntyre paced Andorra with 17 points, Drew Crawford added 15 and Oriol Pauli had 10 for the visitors. Orelik scored 13 first-quarter points and got help from Kalaitzakis to give Lietkabelis a double-digit lead, 29-19, after 10 minutes. The margin was 51-38 at halftime and reached 61-40 soon after the break as the hosts cruised the rest of the way.
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Gagic got Lietkabelis going with an alley-oop layup. Orelik and Kalaitzakis each struck from downtown for an 8-0 lead. Victor Arteaga made a jump hook as Andorra entered the foul penalty in just 3 minutes. Miller-McIntyre stepped up with a fastbreak layup and got help from Babatunde Olumuyiwa to bring Andorra within 13-7. Orelik insisted from beyond the arc and Gagic made it 18-11. Orelik kept pushing the hosts and Kalaitzakis buried an off-balance shot for a 25-14 score. Crawford tried to change things for Andorra but Dovydas Giedraitis and Kristupas Zemaitis each nailed a jumper for a 29-19 Lietkabelis edge after 10 minutes.
Conor Morgan sank a three-pointer early in the second quarter and Crawford dunked off a steal for a 29-24 Andorra deficit. Lipkevicius banked in a jump hook and Gagic matched Miller-McIntyre's layup with a jumper. Miller-McIntyre shined for Andorra with back-to-back layups, prompting the hosts to stop the game at 35-30. Kalaitzakis, Kaspars Berzins and Lipkevicius each sank a three-pointer, boosting Lietkabelis's lead to 44-30. Kalaitzakis capped an 11-0 run with a fastbreak layup. Mario Nakic joined the three-point shootout and Miller-McIntyre added layups in an 0-8 run that gave Andorra hope at 46-38. Gagic and Kalaitzakis gave Lietkabelis a 51-38 lead at the break.
Gagic dunked right after the break and Kalaitzakis boosted the margin to 55-38. Gagic bettered Pauli's driving layup with a three-point play and Lipkevicius added a corner triple that broke the game open, 61-40, after a 15-2 Lietkabelis run. Crawford answered from downtown and Pauli followed a dunk with a driving layup to bring Andorra within 64-47. Crawford insisted with a turnaround jumper and a corner three-pointer to give the visitors hope at 65-53. Giedraitis scored in penetration and Gagic added a layup for a 69-55 Lietkabelis margin. Nakic hit a baseline jumper that made it 69-57 after three quarters.
Gabrielius Maldunas found his first points early in the fourth quarter. Arteaga beat the shot clock with a jump hook and Morgan buried a three-pointer to bring Andorra within single digits, 71-62. Gagic stepped up with a jump hook which Kalaitzakis followed with a driving layup for a 75-64 Lietkabelis lead. Lipkevicius ignited the crowd with a wild triple and Orelik added a layup-and-one that sealed the outcome, 81-66, with less than 6 minutes left. Giedraitis found space for an uncontested layup and Berzins buried a three-pointer that sealed the outcome, 86-70, as Andorra never recovered.





































































































